Select Local Merchants

Sherri Barber, preserver of gleaming smiles and curator of glossed memories, frames expressive portraits within her professional studio. Individual portrait sitters or beach-volleyball teams can show off their aptitude for staring intensely into the middle distance or grinning at nearby props as Sherri snaps shots for about 60 minutes. Once all personages have been fully documented, photographees can peruse a photo gallery, culling pictures spoiled by closed eyes or falling ceilings, then immortalizing the best shots in an 11”x14” print and two 5”x7”s.

Natalie Hathaway's Studio N specializes in freeze-framing façades of newborns, children, and families. During private one-hour studio sessions, Natalie captures funny faces, pulchritudinous poses, and photogenic cowlicks in front of a background chosen to match personalities and outfits. Sessions can include up to three children photographed in classic portrait style. Accentuate individuality by borrowing props from the studio or toting along personal items such as a beach ball, teddy bear, or Jean-Luc Picard action figure in its original packaging.

Essenza Studio describes itself as a "fine-art portrait studio," a distinction illustrated by its portfolio of crisp, framable shots of children, weddings, and high-school seniors. When capturing nuptials, the photographers blend their fine-art approach with photojournalism, immortalizing the events with a blend of candid shots and studied composition.

At Moments Photography, seasoned shutterbug Lori Reeder combines top-notch picture-snapping skills with professional photography equipment, capturing images of everything from babies to blushing brides. With this deal, you’ll get a basic photo session ($45 value) in one outfit at Lori’s well-lit studio—perfect for immortalizing the shining smiles and model-imitation poses of your family or child. After the images have been frozen in film, the raw photos will be retouched and distilled into a video slideshow and mini proof book, offering up the purest essence of photogenic presence.

Fusion Photography specializes in artistic and organic fine-art portraits ideal for senior pictures, business headshots, and photos of brand-new babies. A one-hour photo session begins with a preshoot consultation to forge a common vision between subject and photographer (a $50 value), freeing the shutterbug to pursue mantle-ready images set against the in-home feel of the Fusion Photography studio. After capturing wild light and taming it with practiced technique and minor touch-ups, Fusion Photography traps customer-selected shots in two 5”x7” prints (a $64 value) and loads 10 retouched, printable images on a CD (a $400 value) ostensibly for posterity, but actually as fodder for dummy VIP passes to exclusive gatherings of high-flying librarians.